Everyone knows that printers can be extremely expensive to operate. In addition to ink and toner cartridges, general maintenance costs, repairs and cleaning services can all add up quickly. To reduce your printing costs and decrease the amount of money you spend on printing documents or files, there are several methods you can employ. There are many different ways to reduce your printing costs at home or in the office. Some of these methods may seem counter-intuitive as they involve spending more money upfront or a one time expense. However, over time these small investments will pay off significantly in terms of savings on future printing expenses. In this blog post, we’ll explore 10 tips to reduce your printing costs.

Make B/W printing your printer default setting

If you rely on color printing to produce documents, printed materials or images, you are most likely spending a lot more on printing expenses than you need to. A significant portion of the cost of printing is directly related to the use of ink, toner and other color chemicals. If your business or employees regularly print images or documents in color, you are spending a lot more on printing expenses than you need to. This is particularly true if you primarily use black and white documents or images. By making B/W printing your printer’s default setting, you can dramatically reduce your printing costs while still producing the same quality of printed materials. Not only will you reduce the amount of ink, toner and other color chemicals in each print job, but you’ll also extend the life of your printer.

Print documents double-sided

If you are printing documents that are primarily text in nature, printing documents double-sided is an excellent way to reduce your printing costs. Printing double-sided will use up two pages of paper per one page of text, but it also dramatically reduces your printing costs. When you select “print” from your computer’s menu, you can adjust your printer settings to print double-sided. Be sure to select your printer model from the drop-down menu to ensure the double-sided printing settings are correct for your machine. There are some printers that automatically print double-sided. These printers are typically more expensive than standard printers, so it may make more sense to manually print double-sided rather than purchase one of these more expensive machines.

Consolidate Print Jobs Together

If you have several documents to print, are you printing them one at a time? Or do you wait until you have a few documents ready to print at once before initiating a print job? If you’re printing each document one at a time or waiting until you have several documents ready to print before printing them, you are dramatically increasing the amount of time you’re spending printing documents. If you are printing documents one at a time, you are taking up valuable time that could be put to better use. Waiting to print several documents at once is even more costly as it reduces the amount of time you are able to use your printer each day. Printing documents one at a time or waiting until you have several documents ready to print before initiating a print job dramatically increases your printing expenses.

Utilize Cloud Printing Services

Cloud printing services are becoming increasingly popular. These services allow users to print documents from their smartphone, tablet, or computer and have the documents printed at a nearby printing facility. Some of these services also offer scanning and fax capabilities so you can complete these tasks as well. Cloud printing services are an easy way to reduce the amount of time you spend printing documents, allowing you to spend less time at the copy machine. These services also allow you to choose what type of printer to use. Therefore, if you have a more expensive printer that you often use for printing important documents, you can use that printer to complete the print jobs you send to the copy machine.

Upgrade your machine

You may be tempted to purchase a lower-priced printer that appears to meet your needs. However, if you purchase a lower-priced printer, you may be compromising on the quality of the machine. Cheaper printers may not be as durable or reliable as more expensive printers. Therefore, you may find yourself spending a lot more on printing expenses as you frequently purchase new ink and toner cartridges. If you have an older printer that is still functional, it may make sense to upgrade to a more expensive model. More expensive printers generally produce much higher quality printed materials and last much longer than cheaper printers. Professional full sized business machines generally provide lower operating costs per print/copy, increased productivity and reduced breakdowns.

Conclusion

While printers are an incredible tool for allowing us to create and share, they can also get pretty expensive. With all the costs that go into printing, it can quickly break the bank. Thankfully, there are a few simple tips and tricks you can use to reduce your printing costs and help save a little bit of money. With these tips and tricks, you can reduce your printing costs and enjoy printing even more.